Those are interesting, though I suppose not too surprising, statistics cocoさん. The first five are all large population centers with lots of industrial areas. The bottom five are low population rural prefectures, Having said that, I was recently in Fukuoka, and it certainly doesn't seem like the third most dangerous city of a major industrial nation. (I love bouncing from yatai to yatai in Hakata and Tenjin.)

Last edited by Oyaji on Mon 05.22.2006 11:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

Wow, for living in the most dangerous city in Japan, my wife and I sure felt a lot safer there, than we do now back in the US. Out of all the people I knew from school during my time in Japan (some had been there for nine years), the worst that ever happened to someone was they had their $50 bike stolen, and our school wasn’t really in the best place of town. Even with all the porno shops and Yakuza around there, I never really felt threatened at any point in time, which is more than I can say for downtown Spokane.

Oyaji wrote:Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. I don't think safety even need be a factor when deciding where to live in Japan. There may be parts of some cities that would be considered unsafe, but you're not very likely to be shown an apartment in any of them.

There are no unsafe regions in Japan, but if you ask about a specific city, people may be able to tell you about areas to avoid.

this is the kind of post that made me write about "I've only been a member for 3 months" thread. *rolls eyes*

clay wrote:Most children still walk by themselves or with other children to and from school. Many people (including myself when I was in Japan) sometimes carry hundreds of dollars worth of yen without a second thought since Japan is still very cash based.

Even though you hear more and more bad things happening on the Japanese news, in my opinion Japan is still a very safe place. Of course the large cities all have potentially dangerous spots but as Niphty mentioned that is just how it is.

japan like many other places is shock news driven.. good news doesn't sell, bad news does.. so you hear more because the focus is there.. red light districts are no different in any country.. except that there are alot of places that won't let foreigners in.. ..

Oyaji wrote:Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. I don't think safety even need be a factor when deciding where to live in Japan. There may be parts of some cities that would be considered unsafe, but you're not very likely to be shown an apartment in any of them.

There are no unsafe regions in Japan, but if you ask about a specific city, people may be able to tell you about areas to avoid.

this is the kind of post that made me write about "I've only been a member for 3 months" thread. *rolls eyes*

(I thought of you as I wrote it. )

I stand by that statement 100%. Sure, I would not choose to live in Kabukicho in Tokyo, but I would not feel terribly "unsafe" there, as I would in central Detroit, or East St. Louis.

We could certainly start a thread on crime in Japan, and I would be more than willing to contribute, but that is not what the OP asked about.

I'm sorry if it bothers you, but Japan is a safe country. I don't say that because I live here, rather, that is one of the reasons I enjoy living here.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "region" and "unsafe". According to the earlier chart Osaka has the highest crime rate in Japan, yet I would not call Osaka an unsafe region (see Justin's post). Sure, they are parts of Osaka that it might be good to avoid if you are alone at night, but even those are not comparable to the dangerous areas of most other industrial nations.

I think some of the things Japan does to maintain this level of safety are not good. I would go as far as saying there are human rights issues involved, but that's not the topic.

Edit: In Akita (lowest crime rate in Japan) a few days ago a small boy was kidnapped while walking alone near his home. His strangled body was found a short drive away. Random kidnappings and murders of children are occurring with greater frequency (as in half a dozen over the year in all of Japan ), and though the chances are still less than one in a million, parents are understandably concerned.

In this sense, Osaka, with its walled and gated schools, where children walk home in larger groups along busy streets, could be considered safer than Akita and other such rural areas, including where I live, where the schools are wide open, and some children walk home alone along country roads with no buildings, no people, and few passing cars.

Last edited by Oyaji on Tue 05.23.2006 2:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

It's also all relative. Coming from the states, we consider all of Japan to be relatively safe. If you were Japanese, however, you might think some areas are dangerous because you're range of "dangerous" isn't as wide. Then again, while most of us think of dangerous as "getting goped and raped", some people consider "seeing strange people" dangerous.

Therefore, again, being specific is important. I would say if you lived in any big city and didn't wander down unlit allies at night (i.e. common sense) you will never get groped and raped. You might see some strange people, but if you aren't one of the people who fear that you'll be fine

Cities are actually better than the country, I think, because police and people with phones are always near by.

i remember reading in Rising Sun (Michael Crichton's book) that 99% of crimes get busted in Japan (thats what i remember) - and although that may look extreme, i do trust its a very safe country.

also, in japan most lost things get found you might lose your wallet or a bunch of cash and still find it at a lost item office (or whatever they're called forgot). i saw that on a news report on tv, comparing US and Japan on how many things that get lost actually get found again. it seems that unlike the US (according to the report) in Japan you usually do find what you lose, whatever that may be. not surprisingly, the majority of lost items in japan are umbrellas

You know you've been hanging around a forum too long when people start quoting you and agreeing